A $52 million acoustically sound 183,000-square-foot space, the structure includes a 1,000-seat, opera/concert hall, a 250-seat recital hall, a flexible theater with up to 350 seats, and a five-story academic building housing the music school, all designed as one cohesive building. The University of Denver architects wanted the appearance to lend itself to the outstanding capabilities featured inside. "We felt that the Performing Arts Center should stand a little further above the other buildings in its design," said Mark Rodgers, university architect.
"We selected natural stone because traditionally, public buildings were done in stone, such as government buildings, libraries and churches. We would like to go back to that original usage of stone for the public," added Project Architect Keith Conner, who worked with Rodgers.